[Interview] Wayne Deakin, CCO, Bray Leino

Wayne Deakin, the newly appointed Chief Creative Officer at Bray Leino, is redefining creativity for the modern agency. Moving beyond traditional models, he sees creativity as a strategic force, shaping problems, driving growth, and embedding value across brands.

In his view, the best work isn’t just seen—it’s loved, protected, and impossible to copy. He spoke to Marketing Report.

How have you seen the role of creativity evolve, and how will that inform your approach in your new position?

Working closely with CEOs, CMOs and business leaders across consulting, brand and agency environments changes your perspective. Creativity stops being just the output and starts becoming part of how you shape the problem and solve it. That's a fundamentally different way of thinking.

I'm not coming in with a fixed agency model playbook that's now out of date. That way of thinking produces predictable work and just short-term spikes. We need to think less like an agency if I am being direct and more like a growth partner, using creativity to accelerate, not just communicate. That’s a major shift - one the holding companies can’t make as it doesn't fit their business structures and ways of working.

That means not just responding to a brief but helping define it. Looking at how creativity creates value across the whole system. Not just for an audience, but for shareholders, partners and the internal culture of a business.

Modern brands don't just need great campaigns. They need creativity embedded in how they think, how they grow and how they compete. That will be many things and many ways for a brand to show up.

That's the opportunity. And that's the approach.

As CCO, how do you plan to unify and elevate creative output across Bray Leino, krow and Story?

It’s simple: it starts with a mindset shift.

We’re independent in setup and vision, with incredible talent. My role is to guide creativity where it helps clients thrive. I take a bit of the All Blacks mantra—culture is strategy, not a byproduct. Creativity is a team sport; humility and collective ownership matter. The best idea can come from anywhere.

We’re moving from a service model to a solutions mindset. Creativity today spans media, advertising, design, CX. It’s not full service—it’s ecosystem thinking. Top brands think this way, and so do we.

Understanding the full picture—client pressures, business realities, internal dynamics—is key. When a team aligns around an approach, not just an output, the work becomes focused, resilient, and more valuable.

Craft matters. It’s the difference between being seen and being loved, whether in a B2B pitch or a global campaign.

We have scale and agility: big enough to deliver impact, small enough to care. People here give a damn, treating clients’ challenges as their own, while leveraging tools and teams to create real results.

How do you balance storytelling, craft, and emerging technologies to create resonance?

The world is messy. Markets shift overnight, culture moves fast. If work falters with every change, it wasn’t strong enough. Brands need to hold their ground and create distance from competitors.

Storytelling gives meaning. Craft gives weight. Technology gives reach. Passion gives energy. Together, they create work that travels and delivers both creative and commercial value.

Creativity is a moat. It builds perceived value, protects the brand, and sets it apart from competitors. The best work doesn’t just grab attention—it creates something others can’t copy or erode.

Technology, including AI, helps—but only if used wisely. It can sharpen work or flatten it. The real power still lies in the idea and the craft, now expressed across a broader creative ecosystem.

What does true integration look like in 2026 that traditional models are failing to deliver?

Traditional integration relied on structure and old “matching luggage” thinking—often just a meaningless buzzword. Modern integration is fluency and ecosystem thinking: audience-first, idea-led, platform-smart.

It’s moving a brand across channels without losing message, distinctiveness, or identity. That requires a strong, well-crafted core that can take many forms.

Old models force-fit solutions through silos, prioritising agency over client problems. True integration starts with the business challenge, not the team structure.

It also means guiding clients internally—aligning stakeholders, simplifying complexity, and enabling better decisions. Integration today is as much about mindset and connectivity as it is about execution.

How is technology, including AI, changing the way creative teams operate?

Technology makes us faster—but more importantly, it raises the bar.

If AI can churn out average work in seconds, average is no longer acceptable. The risk isn’t replacement—it’s exposure of those who only ever produced forgettable work.

Used poorly, AI shortcuts to mediocrity. Used well, it’s a thinking partner: stress-testing ideas, prototyping, opening unseen doors. But it has no taste. Only humans know what truly resonates.

The skill isn’t in using AI—it’s in knowing when to use it and when not to. Tools haven’t changed the work; they’ve changed the standard. If a machine can do it in seconds, that probably wasn’t the hard part anyway.

What are the challenges agencies face today, and how can independents like Bray Leino compete?

One of the biggest challenges for agencies today is default thinking. Too many are built to produce the same output, no matter the problem—safe, forgettable, interchangeable work.

Independents have the edge. We get closer to the problem, the leadership, and what truly needs to change.

At Bray Leino, that means being a genuine partner. Long-term client relationships don’t happen by delivering work—they happen by shaping outcomes.

Holding companies have scale. We combine scale with commitment, alignment to real business growth, and craft that creates genuine distinction.

Where are the biggest untapped opportunities, and how will Bray Leino capitalize?

There's a clear gap between business strategy and creative execution.

A lot of organisations know where they want to go but struggle to bring that to life in a way people actually believe in.

That's where creative thinking has real impact. The opportunity is in bridging that gap, defining direction, then building it into something tangible, consistent and well crafted.

When you get that right, you're not just creating campaigns. You're building brand value that shows up in preference, pricing power and long-term growth.

What does success look like over the next three to five years?

Success is being the partner people turn to when the problem is hard and the stakes are real. Helping brands stay front of mind and in people's hearts, creating distance from competitors that's difficult to close.

But success isn't just what we make. It's what happens because of it. Market share. Perception. How a business performs over time. Not just awards, but genuine impact in culture and commerce.

Internally, it's about building a place where people care deeply about the work. Where craft is taken seriously. Where you think commercially but act creatively. Where people do the best work of their careers.

Get that right and creativity stops being decoration. It becomes one of the most powerful tools a business has. And isn't that the whole point? Isn’t that exciting?

www.brayleino.co.uk

 

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